<p>I have several readers on my iPhone - Kindle, the new B&N reader, Stanza and Eucalyptus. It’s definitely increased my reading … it is just amazing that I can hear about a new book, go onto the Kindle app, buy it from Amazon with one click and start reading it within a minute. I am one of those who could happily spend an entire day in a B&N, and it’s like having a B&N in my hand.</p>
<p>The Wall Street Journal (if memory serves, it so often doesn’t these days 
) recently wrote about a pilot program testing e-books at both the university and high school level. The surprising result: the students overwhelmingly preferred paper texts, and most switched back to them (they were given that option as part of the pilot study). The e-texts the students used didn’t support highlighting or making notes. They couldn’t be printed out, even in part. The cost for the e-texts was only slightly less than buying a hardcopy version, and you couldn’t sell your text at the end of the class. You could get a rental e-text, but again, it was still expensive. Finally, the students noted that only one person could use an e-text at a time. One of the e-text publishers said that only one person could use a hardcopy text at a time, but I think the problem is that if all of your textbooks are on one reader, no one can use your physics text while you’re doing o-chem. </p>
<p>Speaking of science textbooks on the Kindle, the New Yorker’s current issue has an entire discussion on the Kindle, and they mention how illustrations and figures–absolutely crucial for science texts–can be unreadable.
[Kindle</a> and the future of reading : The New Yorker](<a href=“http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/08/03/090803fa_fact_baker]Kindle”>A New Page | The New Yorker)</p>
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<p>I really do want an e-reader to be the solution to expensive and heavy textbooks, but it doesn’t seem like we’re there yet.</p>
<p>People who have both an iPhone/touch and a Kindle read books on both. If you’ve got an iPhone (not sure about the touch) your bookmarks update between the two devices so that you can read a little of one of your books on your Kindle, then later turn on your iPhone and open right up to where you left off reading on your Kindle. That is pretty cool. I’ve read a fair number of reviews where people prefer reading on the iPhone/touch to the Kindle. It seems people are more likely to have the iPhone/touch with them than their Kindle. Since I now have a touch (new laptop, Apple threw in a touch for free), that’s where I’ll keep my backup reading.</p>
<p>Just finally ordered my Kindle 2 today! I’m so glad I didn’t buy it when I first posted about it since they dropped the price by $60.00. </p>
<p>A friend who works at ASU said she’s pretty sure students there will also be testing the DX this year. It will be interesting to see the results of those tests.</p>
<p>I had some questions about the Kindle, I’m hoping you guys can answer them:</p>
<p>1 - I mainly plan on using the Kindle to store research articles (mainly PDF documents). How is the PDF conversion on the Kindle 2? Is the DX worth the extra cash to have native PDF support?</p>
<p>2 - I have a bunch of PDF documents I want to view on the Kindle. Does Amazon control the ebooks I add to my Kindle via USB? Meaning if I transfer over a pdf file via the USB cable to my Kindle, can Amazon pull it? I don’t plan on purchasing too many books to be dead honest. I’m using this more for my research and that I won’t have to lug around a ton of books anymore (I currently have like 30 research articles and 10 TEXTBOOKS!)</p>
<p>3 - How is the battery life? </p>
<p>4 - Would this be suitable for a math/physics student? None of my books really have pictures, much less use color.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>I don’t have a Kindle but use the Kindle app for iphone.
Amazon keeps track of all my purchases, so when I got a new ipod I was able to redownload the books onto it ( and still have them on the old one as well.</p>
<p>It does not access other files , however I don’t know for sure about Kindle.</p>
<p>Battery for ipod is good, only charge it every 3 or 4 days unless you are actively using internet, I would imagine Kindle would be similar.</p>
<p>SBU -</p>
<p>Do NOT buy the standard Kindle for pdf’s, especially math papers. the formatting and special characters won’t transfer well. The DX is supposed to be better but I don’t have experience with it, so can’t vouch for it.</p>
<p>Amazon doesn’t control the pdfs (or other files) that you transfer with the USB cord.</p>